Quakes and Fakes
Posted by MyLaowai on Sunday, May 18, 2008
Did you hear the one about kids in Sichuan spending days on end with their heads buried in their school books?
Ok, so that’s in incredibly poor taste, but it isn’t nearly as bad as the one about the Communist Party that builds schools out of tofu in known earthquake zones, and then when the inevitable happens, refuses to allow trained experts to do anything to help, because they don’t want foreigners to see their shame.
I’ve been asked time and again by local businesses to give donations of money “to help the people in Sichuan”, and they are always angry with me when I refuse. Angry with me? My home country, of which I am a taxpaying citizen, offered money. And supplies. And trained teams of experts. And they were told to stay out of China’s affairs. Why are these so-called charitable collectors not angry – nay, livid, absolutely furious – with their own ruling clique? Where are the patriotic, angry youth now? Why are they not calling for the heads of Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao, and the rest of the murderers who rule this place? Why aren’t the ‘concerned students’ at Tianya baying for the blood of their these bastards, instead of fretting anxiously about a few foreigners having relationships with Chinese girls?
And why is it that, when the inevitable happens and a few low-level Party officials are made scapegoats and executed for the crimes of their Party, why is it that everyone will lay the blame on them, but not dare to lay the blame squarely where it belongs: at the doorstep of the system itself?
That’s right, the system itself. Not just the political system that keeps a small cabal of murderers, thugs and goons in absolute power, but also the social system that for the last 2,300 years has made not caring one iota about anyone else a virtue, and corruption something to be admired. The same system that refuses to allow foreigners to help the victims of your own diseased culture, because you might lose your face. And yes, I know how important your face is to you, just ask any Burmese general.
Think about that, ‘Patriotic Citizens’, next time you talk about how great China is.
Wo Shi Laowai - Wo Pa Shui 
chinesereader said
Thank you to be honest and grateful. Wish you a strong horny intuitive high- class prime figure for rest of your life. But I wish the people around you are just normal as we are.
David said
These Chinese are the same people that cheered when the planes hit the world trade
center on 9/11, and gloated over all the Indonesian casualties after the
tsunami hit, with comments like ‘pity the tsunami did not hit Japan’. Just
for the record, and if you don’t like it y’all can stuff it.
I was in Tianjin at that time, and I remember these heartless bastards for
the rest of my life. I said to one of them at that time:’pray to God or
whatever you believe in, that your fucking government has nothing to do with
this’. Well I should not have been surprised, I can say in hindsight. You
got to get to know them.
MyLaowai said
Yes indeed. When the tsunami killed over a hundred thousand people, the overwhelming response from most ordinary Chinese was a gloating smugness, and the only sadness being that it hadn’t hit Japan. I still remember comments like “Indonesians don’t like Chinese, so this is good”.
Interesting that Japan was one of the first countries to offer to help China after the eathquake. It just goes to show that Japan is a far more civilised country than ‘Great China’ will ever be, and people of Japan are far better human beings.
zixuan said
What’s your intend staying in China? You eyes only see what you want to see and your ears ony hear what you want to hear. “people of Japan are far better human beings”?! I would like to hear what you would say when those Japanese buried 300,000 people alive in your hometown. I feel deeply ashamed about those who cheered for the 911 and tsunami. But You are no different than them and even worse.
Heiney said
zixuan said,
“I would like to hear what you would say when those Japanese buried 300,000 people alive in your hometown.”
I think you’re talking about the rape of Nanjing?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:
There are times when crazy fucktards around me do crazy fucktard shit and I stop and think: The rape of Nanjing? It was a good start.
And when Chinese say things like “two bombs wasn’t enough,” then I have no guilt about saying what I just said.
T.W. said
Then I’m afraid that I’ve to say things like “two planes ain’t enough.” and not be guilty about it. I’ve seen some good people in U.S. , and some fucking stupid red-neck assholes like you. Among all those fucking scumbags, you hypocritical “HUMAN-RIOTS” blowers disgust me the most.
T.W. said
I just can’t understand some of those Americans blowing shit out of their assholes in their faces about “HUMAN RIOTS” and not giving a damn about human lives. Those shameless goons must have an IQ with single digit.
克莱夫 said
This post is riddled with prejudice, bigotry and untruths.
The USA offered $500,000, as a preliminary gesture, which was accepted, not refused. Very few foreign experts have been accepted by the PRC as very few are needed – China has enough expertise at dealing with natural disasters already; floods, droughts, landslides and earthquakes are almost routine and with a standing army of 2,000,000 the PRC is not short of manpower. Foreign experts need interpreters, local guides and other resources to enable them to be effective. Why waste effort on giving a few westerners their moment of hollywood glory in saving the world from another disaster? After the circus performance which we saw following Katrina I’m not sure I would want to rely US assistance to be rescued.
I was in the PRC at the time of the tsunami and I do not recall anyone gloating over the event. Shock and sorrow, might be more appropriate descriptions and generosity in giving is what followed.
Regarding corruption, yes there’s a lot of it about. In Wall Street [remember Enron?], in the USA administration, even in the UK government – everywhere you go in the world, so why should China be any different. Just take a little more care before throwing stones around.
justrecently said
“These Chinese are the same people that cheered when the planes hit the world trade center on 9/11, and gloated over all the Indonesian casualties after the tsunami hit, …”
Any country (including China) has a right to its own mob, as long as it doesn’t grow out of control. Yes, I do remember such reactions in China, too. But who is “these Chinese”?
@ zixuan: I think you shouldn’t mind Laowai’s stay in China. There are a lot of points where I have to disagree with him, but I suggest you count his blog as feedback anyway. There is still a lot of truth in it. I recommend “This is your life, Wang xiansheng” to you. Interesting read, if you are self-confident enough to keep your mind open to it, I’d say.
Stranded Mariner said
@David
Your post looks intriguingly familiar :)
Heiney said
T.W.,
Say what you want. I’ve heard it before. Do you think it bothers me? If you do, then you are sadly mistaken. And, yes, Chinese and others were cheering when the planes hit the towers. And for your information, it wasn’t two planes. I do believe there were four planes. So, you should at least get your facts straight.
And you’re making an assumption that I’m from the US based on what? You think I’m an asshole?
Furthermore, the Japanese have far greater experience dealing with earthquakes than Chinese do.
MyLaowai said
@Justrecently:
“There are a lot of points where I have to disagree with him, but I suggest you count his blog as feedback anyway.”
Thank you. Personally speaking, and strictly between you and I, there are a few things in this blog I don’t fully agree with myself, but let’s just keep that our secret. The general aim of this blog is to stir the pot a little, and one can’t easily do that without making certain points more strongly than others.
Neddy said
Sheesh, look what happens the moment I turn my back… Well, almost. What really happened was, I was “getting round tuit” to comment, and the next thing I saw was Heiney on the scene (hi, Heiney… ) and beer glasses flying, so I wisely ducked under the table.
A brownie point to ‘justrecently’ for stepping in to cool it. And another for his choice of “must read” recommendation to ‘zixuan’. I would never manage to be so kind to that ignoramus. This is so because I DO happen to agree with MyLaowai’s post, totally. My own reasons, and nothing to do with bigotry. Anyone does not like that, go complain in the boiler-room.
Speaking of ignorance and bigotry, both ‘zixuan’ and 克莱夫 would have by now metaphorically hanged themselves on their own metaphorical rope, if it was not for a divine intervention of baijiu diplomacy (Heiney, feel free to abuse me if I am wrong). So, further details another time.
Except one: In China, I still do not hear of anyone sparing a thought, let alone compassion, for people of Burma. Not before the quake, not now. Then maybe compassion is only for uber mensch? Read the last paragraph of this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/world/asia/20myanmar.html?ref=asia
“Myanmar is a sovereign country,” Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said at a briefing. “In the end, rescue and relief work will have to rely on the Myanmar government and people.”
(Translation: Fuck the people!)
What would YOU say if your own government was incompetent to help you, yet would not allow anyone else, because it was “their internal affair”? Oh, I forgot, you would not say anything! You wouldn’t be allowed to…
Heiney said
Neddy,
No baijiu in that comment. Pure bile.
Well, I happen to totally agree with the Burma comparison.
Where were the tears? Where were the offers of help? Where were the fund-raisers? Is one disaster any more important then the other? How do the deaths of 40,000 people outweigh the deaths of more than 100,000 people? How is one natural disaster that occurred 1800 miles away less important than one that occurred 1000 miles away? Is one more important because its brutal regime won’t let in aid workers while the other is less important because its brutal regime accepted bribes and allowed the shoddy construction of school buildings and other places with no regard to building codes or safety?
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/doc110?OpenForm
28 disasters to date? Suddenly people start to give a damn because it’s in the motherland?
FURTHERMORE, all the crying and boo-hooing people are doing serves no purpose. It doesn’t help the people who are injured or dead. It doesn’t put clothes on the backs of people who lost everything. It doesn’t put food in their stomaches or gives them water for their thirst. It doesn’t suddenly provide blood or medical supplies. All the crying and shows of emotion are just another form of public masturbation! People think the more they cry, the more others will think they care. The crying and emotional responses make people feel good about themselves.
Heiney said
Furthermore, I’ve made some comments elsewhere about how I thought the “winter storms” down south were manufactured by the government.
For years, China has been saying they have the ability to control the weather. Even for the Olympics, Beijing is guaranteeing clear skies with no rain in Beijing and plenty of wind in Qingdao. Beijing spends millions on cloud seeding and other ‘technology’ to control the weather.
I would not put it past the regime to screw with the weather in a way that would allow them to garner sympathy from other countries during the Olympics. I commented on a Time blog about how I really believed that during the games, you’ll see images from the snow storm and comments like “Just months ago China was gripped with one of the worst storms in history only to rise from the flames and host the greatest Olympics ever!”
Mark my words, now only will the snow storms be used but the earthquake will also be used.
So, I wouldn’t put it past the regime to either cause the earthquake (but maybe they didn’t realize it was going to be so large) or at least help one along. I mean, Lex Luthur tried to do it in Superman, so we all know how to create an earthquake with a nuclear weapon.
Heiney said
P.S.
Hey Neddy! Glad to see you around the blogosphere.
littlefox said
Ha, look what I have found? Woofie’s post just again proved he is a callous selfish insect, example of lowest life form. I guess that’s why you only have the guts to fart in your very own little shit hole.
And for the rest of you who enjoyed his fart, I guess the old Chinese saying is right “birds with the same feather get together”, that’s why you always met the Chinese who are on the same level of yours.
Keep whining and crying, that really “helps”!
justrecently said
Thanks for the brownie point, Neddy (although I have no idea what that is). And I must say that Myloaowai DOES know how to stirr the pot. I mean, just look at these threads – they never end, and somehow it seems that Myloaowai’s fiercest critics enjoy this blog more than anyone else. Keep it going…
Neddy said
@justrecently: Brownie points… Think kudos, karma points, along those lines. And yes, our host here does know how to stir the pot! Funnily, I never thought of asking him if he was a hot-pot fancier…
Enough for now, at least until the next brawl. The talk about hot-pot makes me hungry, and I need a drink, too. See you around.
Heiney said
Neddy,
Drink? Would you happen to have some baijiu for me?
I’ve got no work on Friday, so I’ll be all juiced up tomorrow…
stoogie said
@justrecently,
You do deserve a lot more than just brownie points for being an apologist for the self-confessed shit-stirrer.
In trying to defend the indefensible, you are bringing youself down to their level. If indeed that was your intention, then you should ask the head of the International Retard Association aka Neddy for a honorary membership.
Sometimes I wonder if Mr Shit Stirrer is suffering some form of prosecution complex/paranoia or just made up his little touching “personal” experience (like being king hit by an old lady or spitted at ) to justify his bigetory and shit stirring.
stoogie said
@David
The US have enough enermies already, there is really no need for us to add more salt to your wounds.
@Heiney
“You think I’m an asshole?”
Since you asked, Yes I do think so.
Earthquake and tsunami are unpreventable natural disasters, anyone trying to score some cheap shots are fucktards, Chinese or non-Chinese, that include you and your like minded friends.
If you think you are in the minority, you should hear what many white middle class Australians said about the tsunami and Indonisians because of the Bali bombing.
Here you go, fucktards all around.
Now I don’t mind big mouth crazy fucktard like you being bombed out of existence, but I don’t wish to see innocent bystanders getting hurt just because you are being an asshole.
So do I wish for anymore bombing ? No, I don’t.
Neddy said
Sorry, Heiney, I’m too far away here in Oz. No instant e-booze delivery available yet. Besides, mine is a Cuban rum. Am I turning into a commie? Time for another drink, and few minutes of soul-searching.
BTW, meet stoogie, our resident troll, a.k.a. “living example of inverse relationship between the size of a mouth and that of a brain”. He ain’t got much of anything, let alone class, but then, as our host says, this is only a modest blog. You take what you can afford, and even a semi-eloquent parrot must do in a crunch. On your part, you may choose to ignore him, or piss on him, but whatever you do, do not make a mistake of trying to debate with him… How shall I put it? I know: Have you ever tried to argue with a pre-recorded telephone message? Also, keep our host’s sensitivities in mind; he is fair, but he may not approve of the Sinocidal-style shock therapy!
My, my, stoogie, that “International Retard Association – Founding Member” medal I gave you must have stuck in your gullet. Your neck must be quite scrawny compared to your big mouth. Or shall I take your imitations for a flattery? No, I don’t think so. You repeat yourself too much, like that pre-recorded message.
But I should finish on a more positive note: Your gracing us with your presence here, makes us rightists look all so much more palatable. Though I am sorely tempted to suggest that you keep Australia beautiful, and go away. Anyplace.
justrecently said
“In trying to defend the indefensible, you are bringing youself down to their level.”
@ stoogie:
Well, that may be your opinion, my friend. Seems to me the “Economist” called the Chinese claim on Taiwan “morally indefensible” some time ago, while you commented on an Australian politician that he tells everyone “the truth”, somewhere on this blog – and his position is opposite to the one mentioned above.
So, “indefensible” may be hurled into many directions, and is basically too big a word for a reasonable discussion. Every killer gets a public defender. In certain places, anyway. In others, a confession maybe tortured out of him. Indefensible?
MyLaowai said
For what it is worth, I have never considered any position to be ‘indefensible’. The primary consideration, in my book, therefore falls back to “By what methods and standards does one defend one’s position”.
And I’ll listen, I really will, to anyone who wants to make a case, for anything at all. In fact, chances are I can make a case for pretty much anything in human history. I don’t always agree with it, but I can make a case for it.
Morality is concerned not with whether or not you choose to defend a certain position, but how it is you defend it. I’ll even concede that the Party (and their current Chairman, Butcher Hu) could make a reasonable case in their own defence for the way in which they have behaved. The fact that they can’t (or worse, won’t) is a sorry reflection on the way in which they operate. I.E. in the shadows.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you, whether you agree with me or not, whether you like me or not, for at least having the balls to take a position.
I don’t have a problem with extreme points of view – it has been my experience that extreme people are the people that are most easily convinced by superior arguments (and superior martini’s). My real issue is with the people who sit in no man’s land, thinking that they needn’t get involved. Those are the people who put Hitler in power, those are the people who are currently signing away the moral strengths of the West in general, and those are the people who will support the Red Gods, even as their own lives are devalued on a daily basis.
If I could achieve but a single thing with this blog, it would be that someone got involved.
Hopefully someone on the right side of the Force…
justrecently said
“I’ll even concede that the Party (and their current Chairman, Butcher Hu) could make a reasonable case in their own defence for the way in which they have behaved.”
I don’t think that either the West nor China can make a case in their own defence (or of their own glory) that would be merely based on reason. The undeniable differences between East and West (and the East isn’t only the CCP itself) involves an uncertain element of fear, too – just that neither side likes to acknowledge that publicly, and many of us may not even do so to ourselves. I’m simplifying here, but let me put it this way: The Chinese know all to well what people can do to each other. It is human to project fears on foreigners before looking at your own people – but I believe that those who are honest with themselves will think as much of the Cultural Revolution, as they may think of the Japanese War or Western semi-colonisation. Actually, the older Chinese ppl are, the less hypocritical they tend to be, as far as I can see. The Communist leadership can’t make a solely reasonable case for its own stance, because it fears both its own people and foreigners (some more, some less so).
We Westerners may fear for the values that we hold dear, when looking at a certain class of business people, who never believe in Papa Christmas in their daily routine, but want to do so once it is about “trade begets openness and trust between China and the West”.
But then, individual responsibility comes at a price. We can’t “discipline” OUR “sellouts” (please mind the quotation marks”) the way the Chinese “discipline” theirs.
Then again, I think this is a price worth paying. Antagonism between China and its neighbours / the CCP and its subjects is usually silent, and when it becomes spectacular, it seldom happens in public. Uniformity and coercion doesn’t lead to more stability. The fear that all of China may “break up” once you allow the Taiwanese to make their own choices indicates that.
We should accept the weaknesses that come with pluralism and individual responsibility. Collective coercion is much weaker. Meantime, Chinese and Westerners do business with each other. That is no warrant for peace – but locking each other out wouldn’t be, either.
I’m using my gut feeling here, rather than reason. After all, I don’t think that reason is everything. But where reason is available, we should make use of it.
Nota bene: before you think of yourself as a moral higher being for not “defending the indefensible” – @ stoogie – ask yourself what you are doing on this website yourself. What’s its appeal to you? You aren’t here because you think your remarks can turn us into people as great and insightful as you are yourself, are you?
justrecently said
The smiley in my recent post wasn’t meant to be one – it should be a closing bracket.
justrecently said
And for the record, and to answer the question myself that I’ve just ask stoogie: I appreciate this blog. That’s why I’m here. While I often disagree with Mylaowai, much of it is written in good humour. Humour (including dark humour) doesn’t impair vision. Quite to the contrary.
Heiney said
@Neddy,
I think I’ve seen Stoogie’s type around before.
Three words: Mark Anthony Jones.
Although I don’t have as much knowledge of the famous twat that calls himself Mark Anthony Jones, it doesn’t take much for me to think that Stoogie and he are the same “small brained wiper of other people’s bottoms.”
Furthermore, how serious can you take someone who calls him self something akin to Larry, Moe, or Curly?
Finally, Neddy, I’m not as nice as I used to be and insignificant fucktards (by the way, MyLaowai, I hope you don’t mind my use of your word) like Stoogie don’t even register on my radar. He’s the reason they invented abortion.
stoogie said
Felt a bit left out because I ignored you .. eh
hope the cheap arse rum didn’t distroy the last bit of brain cells you
had.
Since when has this place been a forum for anything rational or “reasonable discussion”?
To prove a self confessed shit-stirrer a shit-stirrer, How many steps of logical induction do you need to come to the same conclusion?
how hard could it be ? Retard !
justrecently said
“Since when has this place been a forum for anything rational or “reasonable discussion”?”
@ stoogie: ah, thanks. THAT’S why you are here!
stoogie said
@justrecently
Well spotted again.
You asked me that question before and I have already answered you. – I’m having a bit of fun poking at the rednecks/bigots to see them twist and turn, dribbling more incoherent nonsense and exposing their true nature.
If my actions made them better human being and save their souls, it was truely unintentional.